Believed dead in a bridge explosion after sacrificing himself to halt an advancing walker horde, a gravely wounded Rick was discovered by a fleeing Anne (Pollyanna McIntosh), who pleaded with a familiar helicopter hovering nearby: “I have a ‘B’!”

Rick was saved, but at the cost of being taken to parts unknown, far from lover Michonne (Danai Gurira) and best friend Daryl (Norman Reedus). Because no body ever surfaced, Michonne and Daryl desperately held tight to hope Rick could be out there — somewhere.

But six years passed, and Rick has yet to return.

Through an encounter with CRM outfit member Isabelle (Sydney Lemmon) on Fear, journalist Althea (Maggie Grace) learned the mysterious outfit is backed by a “reclamation team” — one that kills to preserve its secrets, going so far as to eliminate their own people lest knowledge of their operations seep out.

CRM’s existence is so secretive Isabelle nearly executed Al to keep her quiet, but Al has sworn to keep the confidential information to herself: Al learned Isabelle and partner Beckett were tasked with a “get in, get out” supply run at a nearby nuclear power plant to collect materials for water purification, but Isabelle was forced to kill Beckett in the name of “operational security.”

Al also learned to fear anyone clad in the same black armor.

“If you see someone wearing this jacket, you should be afraid,” Isabelle warned. “We are a force who are not living for ourselves or for now. You have your stories already making every day the past. We have the future.”

When pressed for more answers, Isabelle would only reveal the organization is far-reaching. Beyond the three-ring helicopter that will snatch Rick — an abduction still roughly seven months away from present action on Fear — the CRM organization has tremendous resources.

During the time Anne was acting as Scavenger leader “Jadis,” CRM kept her well-supplied in exchange for survivors designated as “A’s” or “B’s,” but the exact nature of CRM’s human trading program remains a mystery. TWD showrunner Angela Kang has confirmed the long-missing Heath (Corey Hawkins) fell victim to this same group.

“The place I’m from, I’m not gonna tell you where it is, I’m not gonna tell you what its called. But there is something I will tell you. It’s bigger than me,” Isabelle said. “It’s bigger than you, it’s bigger than all of us.”

When Al correctly pointed out CRM is “the future,” Isabelle told her, “We’re the past. And right now it’s the only thing that matters.”

Whatever the exact nature of Isabelle’s mission, she was willing to kill Al over the contents of a tape in her possession — one that contained footage of maps found on Beckett’s reanimated corpse. Isabelle would have died under similar circumstances to ensure the future survival of humanity.

“If someone finds the tape, if they figure out how to read the map, it makes what we have — what we’re working towards — vulnerable,” Isabelle said, stressing the situation was not about neither her nor Beckett.

“This is about the future and rebuilding what we all once had. I will die here if I have to. And I understand why you’d leave me, why you think the tape is more important. But if you choose the story, if you do not destroy the tape, Beckett’s death, my death, it might not amount to anything.”

If CRM’s mission is to “rebuild,” could they be in the process of attempting to find a cure for the unidentified virus that reanimates the dead?

Whatever their true purpose, Rick isn’t with them willingly: even if CRM proves to be the eventual saviors of humanity, Rick Grimes would fight tooth and nail to return home to Alexandria.